In the 1990s, Ailes returned to television with NBC and took over running CNBC, making it profitable. He left NBC in 1993 and called Rupert Murdoch — with Murdoch’s financial backing, Ailes started Fox News in 1996 with no news gathering network and no distribution network. It worked.

The focus on combative opinions made it the top-rated news channel. Roger Ailes steered Fox News to cable television success and steered to organization for 20 years with his take-no-prisoners attitude. In 2016, anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit agains Roger Ailes, charging him with sexual harassment. More accusations from former employees followed, and Ailes was forced to resign (with a significant payout).